Celebrity Homes

A place in history: 44 Grove End Road

Number 44 Grove End Road’s first association with the arts came with French painter James Tissot who moved to London in 1871. A popular society figure, he was visited often by his wealthy patrons where “at all times, there is iced champagne at the disposal of visitors”.

The large garden at the house was an inspiration for Tissot. It featured a cast-iron collade and ornamental fish pond included in the 1876 painting Holyday, in the Tate collection. Tissot left the house in 1882 after the death of his live-in muse Kathleen Newton.

The house was taken by Tissot’s friend and fellow artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1883 (his former house had been destroyed by an explosion in nearby Regent’s Park canal). He spent £70,000 on interiors for his new home that featured in many of his paintings.

Alma-Tadema’s wife, Laura Theresa, was also a successful artist. Inspired by Dutch genre scenes, the house also aided her work, with wooden panelling and subdued lighting. Her step daughters, Anna and Laurense were also artistic: painting and writing plays.

The house was an inspiration for Alma-Tadema’s art, a connection explored in the exhibition At Home In Antiquity (7 July - 29 October) at the Leighton House Museum; a fitting location given the artist’s friendship with Frederic Leighton. leightonhouse.co.uk

The exhibition will include masterpieces such as The Roses of Heliogabalus on loan from the Perez Simon collection by Alma-Tadema and Laura Theresa's Sweet Industry on loan from the Manchester City Art Gallery.

Twentieth-century residents included distinguished soldier Phillip, Baron Chetwode, whose daughter Penelope married the poet Sir John Betjeman. The property was once divided into 14 flats but has been restored by Bleier Estates. The house is not open to the public.

Agent Comment

Lulu Egerton, Strutt & Parker

“London’s studio houses are pieces of living history. They tend to have incredible volume, great light from large north-facing windows, unique layouts featuring mezzanines or minstrels’ galleries. In fact, many modern-day houses and apartments now feature double-height studio-style spaces in homage to these original artists’ studios from the 18th, 19th, 20th centuries.”